In order to safeguard the independence of the external auditor, European Union (EU) regulation:

EU regulation aims to strengthen audit independence bylimiting the range of non-audit servicesthat an audit firm can provide to its audit clients. This ensures that external auditors remain objective and do not haveconflicting commercial interests. Mandatory tendering and rotation also exist (five and ten years), but thecore focusof independence requirements is restricting non-audit services to reduce potential conflicts of interest.